Mistle-Whoa!
by hoffkk
Summary: Reconnecting with Maya Hart at the Matthews' Family Christmas celebration was the last thing Joshua Matthews expected to do, but he did and suddenly found himself on a trip down memory lane where he makes a shocking discovery


Josh was excited to be in the Big Apple for Christmas. A low-key holiday with family was the best kind of holiday if you asked him, especially when it meant seeing his older brother, Cory, and his family. Josh hadn't seen them for a while, since last Christmas to be exact. They all usually came out to Philly for the holiday, but this year Cory and his wife, Topanga, insisted on hosting. So, with a bit of reluctance on his mom's part, they agreed and made the trip north to celebrate the first annual Matthews Family New York Christmas.

As he entered the apartment, Josh greeted his extended family one by one. He welcomed and expected his little nephew, Auggie's, standard greeting of running at him full force and tackling him with a hug, which he always interrupted and turned into a shoulder ride. He expected the usual exchange of "My brotha!" between him and Cory. He also expected a warm hug from his smiley niece, Riley. What he didn't expect, however, was a sudden secondary embrace by a certain petite blonde.

"Uncle Josh!" She called out cheerfully as she flung his arms around him, practically trapping his own at his sides.

He couldn't help but smirk as he responded, "I'm not your uncle, Maya."

"Even better." She retorted quickly, not making a move to let go until Riley forcibly removed her.

For a moment there, Josh had felt awkward with Maya clinging to him, but once she let go, he immediately found himself missing her touch, her warmth. Shaking his head, he pushed the feeling aside and took in the two young girls in front of him. Riley was about two inches taller than the last time Josh saw her, but other than that she looked pretty much the same. Maya, however, was a totally different story.

Josh recognized Maya right away. She had been his niece's best friend since as long as he could remember, and they had met a couple of times, the last being over summer break a few years ago. The girls were about 7 and he was 10, but instead of seeing that feisty kid with messy, yellow pigtails, wearing a denim jumper, he saw something completely different.

"It's, uh, It's been a while." He stuttered, working to collect himself as he gave her a quick onceover. She now had long, golden curls that hung down her back and over her shoulders in waves, and her wardrobe had definitely received an upgrade as she now sported a graphic-tee and skinny jeans that worked to accent the slight curves she had, paired with a stylish cameo print jacket and matching heeled ankle boots. My how Maya had grown.

"Sure has." Maya smiled back, tugging on the fronts of her jacket.

It got quiet as they just stood there a moment, staring at each other, taking in the other one's presence. Josh didn't know what Maya was thinking, but his mind was instantly taken back to the last time they hung out together...in Philly, seven years ago.

 _"I'm the queen of the world!" Maya yelled from the worn tree house that still stood strong among the branches of the old oak tree in the Matthews side yard._

 _"Maya..." Riley warned, twirling her dark ponytail nervously with her finger. "That's Josh's tree house. No girls allowed, remember?"_

 _"I'm not a girl...I'm the queen!" Maya corrected her friend. "So, he can't tell me what to do!"_

 _"Oh, really?" Josh questioned, quirking a brow as he entered the yard from the back door leading to the kitchen. He had heard their conversation through the open window and was instantly annoyed. He had come out to shoo them away from his domain, but immediately softened when he saw Maya crouched in the doorway of his tree house. Her hair was disheveled with one pigtail loosely in place, letting strands of hair fall across her face. A scraped knee peeked out through a hole in her paisley multicolored leggings, her favorite pair of leggings, which were partially covered by a denim skirt that had clearly seen its better days that she matched with a wrinkly yellow Justice tee-shirt._

 _It wasn't her unkempt appearance that caused Josh to stare though. It was the way the sunlight hit her, making her skin glow and her eyes twinkle. It was the way the summer breeze blew temperately through, tousling her bangs across her forehead. It was the way she looked at him...like she wasn't intimidated at all, like she didn't have a care in the world, like she was waiting for him to make the next move._

 _"Really." She answered, her mischievous smile growing, revealing the dimples in her cheeks._

 _Josh tried to stifle his smirk as he crossed his arms._

 _"Oh, boy." Riley mumbled, before scurrying into the house calling, "Graaandmaaaaa!"_

 _"Well, I think it's time for the queen to be dethroned." He said, teasingly, feigning anger as he marched himself over to the base of the tree and climbed up the ladder. He wasn't really going to force her out of the tree house, he was just curious to see what she would do._

 _Maya didn't waver, standing her ground forcefully instead by narrowing her eyes and shifting herself completely in front of the entrance to the tree house. As Josh climbed up the rungs of the ladder, he looked up and made eye contact with Maya, watching her as he made his way upward. He stopped on the fourth rung down from the tree house, when his face became level with the door. His head was slightly tilted as he looked deeper into Maya's eyes, which were now just a few inches from his own. He was mesmerized by her sparkly blue orbs for a moment until she reached out a hand and placed it on his shoulder, forcefully shouting, "STOP!"_

 _He didn't move a muscle, just stared intently at the blonde in front of him, and she stared back just as intently. They were caught in an unspoken battle of the staring variety. Who would break first?_

 _After a long beat, Josh let out a loud breath, then smiled as he looked away, shook his head and said, "Fine. Enjoy your Castle, your highness."_

 _Maya just smirked and replied, "I already am."_

 _The stared at each other for another long moment, then Maya said, "Look." and nodded her head behind him. He glanced over his shoulder to see the sun beginning to set, then turned back to Maya who moved over and sat down, letting her legs hang over the edge of the tree house. Josh maneuvered himself so he was sitting next to her and took in the beautiful scene. The sky was a mixture of orange and pink as the sun inched its way toward the ground behind a grove of trees._

 _"Whoa." He whispered._

 _"Yeah," Maya agreed. "Whoa."_

 _They continued to watch the sunset until Riley came rushing out of the house with Grandma Amy in tow. She told them it was time to come inside, so reluctantly they both climbed down from the tree house._

 _Josh didn't realize until they began to move that their hands were entertwined. He wasn't sure if he initiated it or she did, but, regardless, he convinced himself that it only happened because they were sitting so close together in the tree house entryway and that it didn't mean anything._

Thinking back on that day, Josh didn't know what had been more amazing, the sunset or Maya? She had been so fierce and sassy. He bet she was still the same way. One thing that was definitely the same, were her sparkling blue eyes, which he noticed were still staring at him.

 _"Uh. oh."_ He thought to himself. How long had he been spaced-out? A few seconds? A few minutes? Longer?

Silently praying, it was only a few seconds, he fumbled quickly for words. Any words.

"Well, uh...well, you grew up gorgeous." He spoke finally, scratching his head nervously. Then, Josh decided to leave before embarrassing himself further and darted into the kitchen grab a snack.

 _"Gorgeous? Where had that come from?"_ Josh wondered as he popped a cracker into his mouth, followed by a piece of cheese. It wasn't a lie, Josh would never lie to anybody. It was just a bold statement, but Josh usually didn't make those to girls, unless...

...unless he liked them.

"Oh, boy." Josh muttered, coming to this realization. This was going to be one long holiday visit.


End file.
